


Night Pat Murphy, The

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-03-24
Updated: 2001-03-24
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:05:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14799692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A girl's night out featuring lots of Guiness, whiskey, rum and some good ol Irish fun.





	1. Night Pat Murphy, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I never have, I never will. But I need some way  
to kill time, so I borrowed them for a little while. Please don't sue me. I  
have about five dollars in my bank account and about fifty cents in my purse.   
Edith Lyman, Frank Thompson, and Teri Graham are mine, though. 

SUMMARY: A girls' night out featuring lots of Guinness, whiskey, rum, and some  
good old fashioned Irish fun. 

CATERGORY: Josh/Donna, new character(s) 

RATING: Eh, this one's about PG. 

NOTE: The sequence is as follows: Shelter from the Storm, Lilac, Lifelines,  
and then The Night Pat Murphy Died. Thank you for reading this far, and  
feedback is always appreciated. 'The Night Pat Murphy Died' is a traditional  
Irish folk song, which the band Great Big Sea does a great rendition of.

  


The Night Pat Murphy Died

  


"Josh, do you have the stats on HR 346?" CJ Cregg leaned against the doorjamb  
of Joshua Lyman's office. 

He looked up from a pile of papers he was sifting through. "Huh?" 

"Stats. HR 346." 

"Oh, yeah. I think." He looked at something over her shoulder. "Donna!" 

CJ winced. How Donna ever put up with all the bellowing, she'd never figure  
out. "Intercom, Josh. Second button on the left." 

He smiled. "Yeah, but it's more fun to yell at my people." 

"Fun for you, maybe," Donna said as she came up behind CJ. "What do you need,  
Josh?" 

"The stats on HR 346." 

"The highway bill?" Donna frowned. 

"Yeah." 

"Sam has them." She smiled at CJ. "How you doing, CJ?" 

"I'm fine, despite the fact that no one seems to know what the hell happened to  
the stats on HR 346. I already talked to Sam. He said Josh had them." CJ  
rubbed the bridge of her nose. "It truly astonishes me that we manage to govern  
this country at all. I have a briefing in fifteen minutes, and somehow we've  
managed to loose stats on an inconsequential bill, but if I'm asked a question  
and I don't know what the hell I'm talking about do you know how bad that makes  
me look?" 

"Not to mention the fact that Congressman Harrison feels alienated by the White  
House, since the Press Secretary can't be bothered with details on his  
inconsequential bill," Donna pointed out. 

"And he's a very prominent House Democrat from Illinois." CJ concluded. 

Josh held up his hands. "I don't have the HR 346 stats." 

CJ threw her arms up in the air. "Then who the hell does?" 

"I do." 

All three turned to look at the person who'd just entered through Josh's second  
office door. Teri Graham smiled at them and waved a manila folder, which she  
then handed to CJ, who blinked. 

"Sam's usual assistant � Kathy, I believe - is out sick and he's got the temp  
from hell over there. Apparently she forgot to tell Sam that I had the stats." 

"Okay. Well, I have them now, so that's out of the way. Second item, why did  
you have them?" 

Teri just smiled again. "I get asked questions, too, CJ. I'm not about to  
make an Administration I just started working for look bad." 

"Okay," CJ said. "But a rule of thumb for this office is to let about everyone  
within earshot know if you have something that someone else might need." 

The redheaded woman nodded. "Not a problem." 

"Okay." CJ said. 

Teri gestured over her shoulder. A shoulder that was clad in a very nice gray  
suit. Donna made a mental note to ask her where she did her shopping. "If you  
all don't mind, I've got a thing." 

"What thing?" 

"TIME wants a photo-op � " 

"For the Northern Ireland thing?" 

"Yeah, I've got to run. CJ, I'll catch you after the meeting, okay?" 

"Sure," CJ said. And the three of them watched Teri as she left and closed the  
door behind her. 

"Can I just say that I really like her?" CJ said after a moment. 

"You're not the only one," Josh said. "Hell, anyone was better than Mandy and  
her constant hostility, but Teri just rules." 

"I wouldn't be the one to comment on anyone else's hostility, if I were you,  
Mr.-secret-plan-to-fight-inflation." Donna raised an eyebrow. "But I like her,  
too." 

"Support, Donna." 

"Bite me, Josh." 

CJ shook her head. "The two of you...I mean, really." 

Josh smirked. "And we pay you to talk to reporters?" 

"To steal Donna's words, Josh, bite me." CJ lifted the manila folder. "I've  
got to review the stats before my briefing. A briefing at which I will not give  
reporters a reason to believe we have a secret plan to fight inflation and that  
the President is a chain smoker." 

"Go away, CJ." 

"Couldn't be gone soon enough." She turned to leave and Donna joined her as  
soon as she reminded Josh of the budget meeting he had in ten minutes. 

"You'd think the man would buy a new watch." Donna sighed. 

CJ snorted. "Please. It's Josh." She scratched the back of her neck. "Hey,  
Donna, we still on for tonight?" 

Donna looked at her as she broke away to return to her desk. "Yeah. Why  
wouldn't we be?" 

CJ shrugged. "No reason. Just checking. Edith said she'd join us?" 

"Yeah, see you at nine?" 

"Yeah." CJ leaned into Donna's bullpen area. "You sure you're okay with  
this?" 

Donna sighed and gave her that look she usually reserved for Josh when he was  
being stupid about something. "I'm fine, CJ. It's a different place, a  
different scenario, and besides, I'm over it." 

"If you say so." 

"I am," Donna lowered her voice. "Josh even made me talk to that guy from  
ATVA. Trust me, I'm fine." Besides the occasional nightmare, but Stanley had  
assured her that she hadn't developed any severe psychological conditions. He  
said that given the fact that her abduction had taken place outside, it would've  
been within the parameters of possibility for her to have developed acute  
agoraphobia. But she hadn't. And eventually even the nightmares would go away.   
If anything, it made her proud that she was stronger than she'd thought she was. 

She still caught her breath in parking lots, and it would be a while before she  
could walk to her car without jumping at every little noise, but that would go  
away as well. With time. 

"Okay," CJ said. "I've got a briefing." 

"Yeah." Donna watched CJ disappear into her own office, then shook her head  
and smiled. 

Josh poked his head out of his office door. "Hey, Donna, you care if we work  
through lunch?" 

"Nope. That's fine. Mess food, or do you want me to order Chinese?" 

"Mess is fine." He did that thing where he tilted his head down and raised his  
eyebrows. "Unless you wanted Chinese?" 

"I really don't care. Mess is fine with me." 

"Okay." 

"Okay." Donna frowned as he went back into his office. After a moment she  
followed him and shut the door behind her. "Josh." 

He looked up. "Yeah?" 

"Finding your way to the light switch does not involve acting any different  
toward me in the office than usual, okay?" 

"I'm not." 

"You are." 

"I'm really not." He frowned. "Am I?" 

Donna sighed and sat down. "You are, though nobody's going to fault you. You  
nearly lost your assistant to a serial killer, and �" 

Josh winced. "Donna �" 

"Shush. If I can say it, you can listen. I don't like to hide things, Josh.   
If it hurt for me to say it, I wouldn't. It happened, it's over, we can deal  
with the rest." 

He gave her a small smile. "You know you sounded incredibly like Abbey Bartlet  
right there?" 

Donna smiled. "I think that's the nicest compliment you've ever given me. But  
it's also beside the point. I'm okay, Josh. I mean, yeah, there's still some  
stuff I have to deal with, but," she gestured with her hand to indicate the area  
around her, "here I'm okay." She leveled a look at him. "And I want you to  
realize that." 

He studied her face for a minute then nodded. "I do." 

"Okay. I've got, you know, actual work to do now that you pissed off all the  
budget people." 

"I didn't piss off all the budget people." 

"Oh, right, there are two who are only annoyed instead of angry." 

Josh rolled his eyes. "Go." 

"Yeah." She opened the door. 

"Oh, Donna?" 

"Yeah?" She turned around. 

He smiled. 

Donna knew exactly what that smile meant. "I know," she said. And walked back  
to her desk. 

Josh sighed and returned his attention to his computer. It was good to have  
Donna back. 

In more ways than one. 

TBC

 

  


	2. Night Pat Murphy, The 2

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO  
PART 2

  


"Donna! Could you possibly take longer in front of the damn mirror?" 

Donna glared at Edith, who was grinning. "Did  
Miss-I-just-spent-fifteen-minutes-putting-up-and-taking-my-hair-down-again  
accuse me of vanity?" 

"Bite me. And come on, already, you look fine." Edith put her hands on her  
hips. 

"I know. I just like to double check to make sure I didn't smear anything. I  
tend to do that at the most inopportune times." 

CJ walked into the hallway outside the bathroom. "Can we leave already?" 

"Yeah," Donna said and left the bathroom. "All this female bonding is just  
making me warm and fuzzy." 

"All the more reason to hurry up and go get smashed," Edith drawled as she  
hauled on her coat. 

"'Smashed'?" CJ repeated. "You are still stuck in college, aren't you?" 

Edith grinned. "Yep, I'm the female version of the frat boy that never goes  
away. You know you love me." 

CJ snorted. "In a purely platonic fashion." 

Edith laughed. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, CJ. But I'll still  
drink your ass under the table." 

"I don't know," she responded. "You might've inherited the Lyman sensitive  
system." 

It was Donna's turn to snort as she grabbed her purse and locked the door.   
"Not likely. Edith here can absorb better than a damn sponge. Josh just must  
be a genetic freak." 

"All too true," Edith said, and they all laughed.

  


"Is there anyplace better than an Irish pub?" Edith threw back the last of her  
pint. Her second pint, Donna noted. Her second pint in addition to three shots  
of whiskey that she'd already downed. CJ was still on her first pint, and Donna  
was still working her second whiskey sour. 

"An Irish pub in Ireland?" Donna offered. 

Edith smiled, still amazingly sober where Josh would've already been passed  
out. Well, not sober. Donna was pretty sure that Edith was fairly tipsy.   
"True. I may be of Jewish heritage, but I've always felt like an Irish lass at  
heart." 

"Well, ye've just won yerself a free pint, lass." The bartender grinned and  
refilled her glass. 

Edith laughed at him and raised her glass. "I'll drink to that, Mr. O'Leary." 

"I bet ye will." The older man smiled, then looked at something over her  
shoulder. 

"If it gets me a free pint, I'll be Irish, too, even though my parents were  
from Glasgow." All three women turned to come face to face with Teri Graham. 

Teri grinned. "I'll have a Scotch, if you please, Jack." 

"Would be me pleasure, even though ye're a dirty highlander and yer father was  
a fecking Scot." Jack O'Leary grinned and slid a scotch down to Teri, where  
she'd taken a bar stool next to CJ. 

"Teri!" CJ said. "I thought you couldn't come?" 

She took a long swallow of her scotch before answering. "Yeah, but I got stood  
up." 

"The bastard," Donna said. She knew. She'd had her fill of them. Well,  
before Josh, but that wasn't something they really wanted to come out with until  
they were sure they could do it. 

"Yeah, well," another long swallow, "I'm too good for him, anyway." 

Edith raised her pint. "That's the spirit, uh, Teri was it?" 

"Yeah," she extended her hand. "Teri Graham, public relations consultant to  
the White House." 

"Edith Lyman, Special Agent extraordinaire, cousin to the Deputy Chief of Staff  
of the White House, and roommate of the Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff of the  
White House." 

Donna nearly choked on her whiskey sour as she laughed. "Thanks, Edith. At  
least one of you appreciates my sense of humor." 

"Only when I'm drunk, Donna. Don't let it go to your head." 

CJ sighed and knocked back the last drags of her pint. "Can I get a rum and  
coke?" 

"Sure t'ing," Jack said, and he fixed one for her, sliding it down the bar. 

Edith pointed to the right of the bar. "Oh, look, guys! They're gonna play,  
finally!" 

"Took 'em long enough to set up the stage," Donna said as she accepted her  
second whiskey sour from Jack. "Is that Danny Concannon? With a violin?" 

CJ looked up from her drink. "Huh? Oh, God, it is." 

Donna waved. "Hey, Danny!" 

Everyone's favorite redheaded reporter looked over from the small dais in the  
back of the club. Waiters and waitresses were clearing away tables and chairs  
to make room for a dancing floor. Apparently they'd picked a great night to go  
to O'Leary's. 

"Hey, Donna." He walked over to join them, a violin and bow tucked underneath  
one arm. "Hey, CJ, hey, Teri." 

CJ smiled. "Hi, Fish Boy. Nice violin. I didn't know you played." 

"It's a fiddle, and I only play when they force me." Danny grinned. "My  
grandfather taught me when I was little. Wanted to keep the whole heritage  
thing going, I guess." 

Teri smiled and raised her glass. "You actually remembered my name, which is  
more than I can say for that Billy fellow." 

"That's why I'm senior White House correspondent and Billy's not." 

"Ah." 

CJ raised a finger. "Speaking of which, whatever happens from this point  
forward is completely unofficial and off the record." 

Danny nodded. "Sure." 

Donna fixed CJ with a look. "Do you ever stop working? I swear, you're as bad  
as Josh sometimes." 

Edith extended a hand. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm �" 

"Agent Edith Lyman, right?" Danny shook her hand. "It's great to finally meet  
you." 

"Same, there, Danny." 

"You seem a little drunk." 

"You think?" Donna couldn't believe Edith was halfway through her third pint  
already. Well, hell, she was nearly finished with the second whiskey sour and  
was getting ready to order a third. 

"So," Donna said, "looks like there's a bit of a party going on tonight." 

Danny grinned. "Yep. You guys came on a good night." 

CJ smiled and gave Danny a look. "Great, 'cause all I've ever wanted out of  
life was to watch you play the fiddle." 

"I know." He smiled and walked back towards the dais. 

"Incorrigible mongrel." CJ laughed in spite of herself. 

Donna ordered another whiskey sour, and smiled while Teri and Edith engaged in  
conversation. She really liked the new PR consultant. For one thing, it was  
great to have another woman (who wasn't Mandy Hampton) on the senior staff, and  
for another, Teri was just a likeable person. She was hard and serious when she  
needed to be, but she just had this lighthearted manner about her that made you  
have faith that even the worst problems weren't as bad as they might seem.   
Probably why she was so damn good at her job. 

That, and Teresa Graham radiated confidence and security in herself, which was  
a quality she shared with CJ. Donna admired it in any woman since it was a  
trait that she often found lacking in herself. Not as often as she used to,  
though. It was true, what she'd told her parents. Donna really had found a  
part of herself in DC that she'd never known existed. 

She had Josh, CJ, Abbey Bartlet, and even Sam and Toby to thank for that. 

God, she loved her job. 

TBC

 


	3. Night Pat Murphy, The 3

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO  
PART 3

  


A number of Guinness pints, whiskey sours, scotches, and rum and cokes later...

Edith raised her pint arm and laughed when some sloshed over the side onto the  
dais. She had her other arm around Donna, who was in turn linked to Teri, who  
was in turn linked to CJ. And despite the fact that they were all madly drunk,  
a part of Edith's mind catalogued the fact that they actually didn't sound half  
bad together, also despite the fact that she felt sure they were all in  
different keys. 

"I'm a rovin' Jack of many a trade, of every trade, of all trades, and if you  
ask to know my name, they call me Jack of All Trades..." 

And Danny Concannon could definitely bring it with the fiddle. 

The song ended, and Terry, CJ, and Edith all went to find partners for the next  
reel. Donna hiccupped and laughed at something the flute player said. Johnny  
was his name, and a nice fellow he was, too. But he wasn't Josh. Donna felt  
relieved that she wasn't nearly as drunk as the other three. She'd stopped  
after the last whiskey sour. Someone had to be sober enough to remember how to  
work a key into a lock. 

"Would you like to play?" 

Donna raised an eyebrow at Johnny. "I don't think I should, thanks anyway.   
It's been quite a while since I played anything on flute, let alone a jig or  
reel. Though I definitely rocked in high school. We had our very own Irish  
folk group." 

Danny adjusted a string on his fiddle. "You familiar with the song 'Captain  
Wedderburn', Donna?" 

She chewed her lip and thought for a minute. "Wait, is that the one about the  
six questions?" 

"Yeah. You want to sing the female part? Our other singer backed out on us.   
She had to baby-sit her sister's kids." 

Donna grinned. "Sure. Just don't shoot me if I suck. And no editorials about  
the Deputy Chief of Staff's drunken, off-key assistant." 

Danny smiled. He had a cute smile. She wondered if CJ thought his smile was  
cute. Like Donna thought Josh's dimples were cute. "Boy Scout promise." 

"You weren't a Boy Scout." 

"True, but I promise, nonetheless." Yeah, he had a cute smile, but she liked  
Josh's dimples. Josh had great dimples. And a great butt... Even though she'd  
more than filled her quota for the evening, she picked up the nearest pint and  
took a long swig, giving Johnny an apologetic smile when she realized it was  
his.

Edith elbowed CJ. "Hey, look, Donna's gonna sing with Danny." 

CJ turned to look, and nearly stumbled in the process. "Donna has a nice  
voice, but can Danny sing?" 

"Well, we're about to find out aren't we?" 

Teri came up behind them. "'Sup?" 

"Donna's gonna sing with Danny," Edith repeated. There was definitely a haze  
to her vision now. She should probably stop drinking. 

Teri giggled as she collided accidentally with CJ, which started CJ giggling,  
which started Edith giggling because CJ sounded very silly when she giggled.   
Oh, yeah, she should definitely stop drinking now. 

The three female stooges, as Edith was beginning to think of them, sat down at  
a table towards the back of the dance floor so they could listen to Donna sing  
with Danny. Edith firmly set her pint glass down and refused to pick it back  
up. Teri leaned her head on CJ's shoulder as the music began. 

"A nobleman's fair daughter went down the front lane, to meet with Captain  
Wedderburn, the keeper of the gate..." 

"Wow," Edith whispered. At least, she was pretty sure she was whispering.   
"Yeah, I'd say he can sing." 

"Yeah." CJ said, but didn't take her eyes off the stage. 

They listened to Danny's voice, which was a nice, soft tenor, trade off to  
Donna's clear, pretty lilt. They listened as the song told the story of the  
nobleman's daughter and the gatekeeper and how he basically had to answer six  
questions right to sleep with her. 

"That's it," Teri said. "I'm going to start giving pop quizzes to any guy I  
take home." 

"What is worse than a woman's curse," Donna continued to sing, "and what is  
deeper than the sea? Which bird sings first and which sings best and where does  
the dew first fall? So you and I in a bed might lie...roll me over next to the  
wall..." 

"So let me get this straight," CJ said. "She asks, he answers, and then they  
basically get it on, am I right?" 

"Yep," Edith replied. 

"So the Irish manage to make a song about two people screwing into a beautiful,  
enchanting melody. I'm thoroughly impressed." 

"'Beautiful, enchanting melody'?" Edith repeated. "Gee, I couldn't tell that  
you worked in PR." 

"Shut up and listen to Donna sing with Danny." 

"Okay." 

The song ended to a roar of applause from the O'Leary crowd. Donna blushed.   
But that could have something to do with the fact that Teri, CJ, and Edith were  
the loudest clappers and shouted her name at the top of their considerable  
collective lungs. 

"Encore!" CJ yelled. 

"Go, Donna!" was about the most creative Edith could come up with. Which was  
better than Teri, who just whistled. And then yelled "Take it off!" which  
earned a glare from Donna and sent the three of them back into giggling  
convulsions. 

Danny whispered something to Donna, who grinned and nodded enthusiastically.   
Danny passed his fiddle to another member of the impromptu band and tossed a  
companionable arm around Donna's shoulder as they sang the first verse of the  
encore tune. 

"Well the night that Paddy Murphy died..." Danny started. 

"Is a night I'll never forget..." Donna finished. 

"Some of the boys got loaded drunk..." which elicited a cheer. 

"And they ain't been sober yet..." another cheer. 

They joined voices. "But as long as the bottle was passed around, every man  
was feeling gay..." 

"Then O'Leary came with the bagpipes and the music for to play," and the music  
started in at a very energetic pace. "That's how they showed their respect for  
Paddy Murphy...That's how they showed their honor and their pride. They said it  
was a sinnin' shame and they winked at one another, but every drink in the place  
was full the night Pat Murphy died!" 

The three drunk-ass stooges (Edith amended their title in her head) laughed and  
clapped along as Donna and Danny sang verse after verse about a bunch of people  
getting drunk the night of a funeral, arguing with the widow over the time so  
they could keep drinking, and eventually realizing that they'd left the corpse  
behind when they went to the cemetery. 

Edith definitely loved the Irish. And 'The Night Pat Murphy Died' might just  
be her new favorite song. If she could remember it in the morning. 

But for now it was enough to be in the company of friends, new as they might  
be. And it was more than enough to watch Donna - who'd she'd spent weeks  
watching lay in a hospital bed and weakly hobble around � up on that stage with  
her arm around Danny Concannon's shoulder and belting out Irish tunes at the top  
of her lungs. Edith never would've thought it, but, damn, that girl could sing.   
As CJ put it, Donna could definitely bring it. 

Edith laughed as Donna took an exaggerated bow at the end of the song. This  
was definitely a great night. 

TBC


	4. Night Pat Murphy, The 4

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO  
PART 4

  


Donna stumbled against the main entrance to her apartment building. Danny  
reached out an arm to steady her and chuckled, damn his sober ass. "You okay,  
there, Grace?" 

"Yep," Donna said. "My vision's finally starting to clear, and my head's only  
ten feet above the rest of my body instead of the previous twenty." 

Danny Concannon laughed. "I hate people who can actually from sentences when  
they're drunk." He nodded towards the other three women, crowded around the  
apartment door trying to figure out how to fit the key in the door. "Want me to  
see the rest of the crew home?" 

Donna yawned. "Nah, we're cool. Thanks anyway, Danny." 

"Goodnight, Donna." He turned to leave, but she didn't miss the backwards  
glance directed at CJ, who'd now collapsed beside the door. "Tell CJ...well, tell  
her I'll see her Monday." 

"Will do." Donna smiled sympathetically. She'd never let him know it � as  
much as she liked Danny, he was still a reporter � but she understood  
completely. It was just that this one time (and it was a complete exception),  
she and Josh actually had more sense than Danny or CJ. 

Well, personally anyway. The professional side still had to be dealt with, and  
it was something that she really didn't want to think about. It would ruin the  
great evening she'd had. Donna smiled again as she watched Danny hop back in  
the cab and wave one final time. 

"Hey, Donna!" Edith yelled. Yelled, and she was about five feet away. Donna  
sighed. Edith held up the key with an utterly pathetic expression that sent  
Teri off into another giggle session that woke up CJ, who'd apparently been  
napping beside her apartment door. 

Donna shook her head, fighting a grin. All the college degrees between the  
three of them, and they couldn't unlock a damn door. She managed to stumble  
over to them, and after some arguing, they finally got the door open. 

They spilled into the living room, Donna and Edith claiming the couch, CJ  
sprawling over a chair, and Teri settling for the floor. "Oh, we so need to  
order pizza," Teri said as she stretched out on the carpet. "Donnatella,  
where's your phone?" 

"In the kitchen," Donna mumbled as she slid deeper into the couch cushions. 

"Hey," CJ lifted a hand. "You're not allowed to call Donna Donnatella. Only  
Josh calls Donna Donnatella. It's a...thing...they have." 

"'Thing'?" Edith echoed. 

CJ waved her hand around. "You know...subtext." 

"Claudia Jean!" Donna squealed. "We do not need to be discussing any subtext  
Josh and I do or do not have!" How the hell did she know, anyway? 

The other woman blinked. "But you do have subtext." 

"CJ!" 

Edith nodded sagely, as if she weren't completely tanked right then. "As well  
as just plain text." 

"Edith!" 

Teri re-entered the living room. Apparently she'd gone and ordered pizza  
without anyone else noticing. "You know, there is definitely some hot chemistry  
between you two. I wish I had a guy that looks at me like that." 

Donna was NOT blushing. "He doesn't look at me like anything." Yeah, and that  
made a whole lot of sense. Like she didn't know how Josh actually felt or  
anything. 

Teri reclaimed her position on the floor. She reminded Donna of a cat. "Oh,  
yeah he does. You'd have to pay attention to notice, but I get paid to notice  
stuff. And I have to say those are some definite hot looks." 

"Teri!" 

CJ stretched her arms. "It's okay, Donna. I think it's pretty much noticeable  
to everyone how much you and Josh mean to each other. It's going to be a  
Texas-sized migraine to handle, speaking as Press Secretary." She actually  
seemed to sober up for a moment. "But, Donna, I was with you when Josh was in  
the hospital. And I was with Josh, when you...when we all were worried, and after  
in the hospital as well." 

"CJ..." Donna was not going to cry. She absolutely was not going to. 

CJ met her eyes. "You were Josh's lifeline during his recovery. You still  
are. For a while, I worried whether or not he was strong enough to be yours.   
But he was, obviously, and no one could be your lifeline but Josh, just as no  
one could be his but you." 

Donna found herself absolutely unable to speak. And, yeah, she was crying.   
How the hell both she and CJ could both come up with the lifeline metaphor was a  
little odd, but Donna found it touching. Now, if CJ started talking about  
darkened rooms and light switches, she might just get a little freaked out. 

Edith smiled. "You, Claudia Jean, are making way too much sense for a  
drunk-ass stooge." 

Donna finally found her voice. "'Drunk-ass stooge'?" 

Teri giggled again. Edith waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind. Where's that  
damn pizza?" 

"Relax, it'll be here soon," Teri said, in between giggles. She took a  
steadying breath, which made Edith giggle. 

CJ rolled her eyes, trying valiantly not to laugh. "Oh, good Lord..." 

Teri sighed and rolled over onto her back. "Actually, though, CJ, I have to  
disagree with you." 

"About what?" 

"About the migraine. It could be good press op." 

That grabbed their attention. "How, exactly?" CJ asked. "Am I missing  
something? A sex scandal is not exactly the re-election boost we need." 

"Oh, please," Teri said as she sat up. "Who the hell worked for the man with  
the world's largest zipper problem? There were days when all I wanted in the  
world was a roll of duct tape to keep his mouth shut and his pants up! I think  
I've had more than my share of sex scandal experience. Just listen to me for a  
minute, okay?" 

"Okay." CJ blinked. 

"First of all � excuse the insensitivity here, Donna � Josh Lyman is a shooting  
victim of a white supremacy group, who by the grace of whatever God barely  
escaped with his life. Donna Moss is the victim of a psychopathic, known  
killer. She was abducted, abused, but luckily the FBI managed to get her back  
before she was killed." 

CJ sat up. "You're right. Victim sympathy." 

Donna and Edith just exchanged looks. 

CJ looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Donna, it's �" 

Donna raised a hand to halt her. "Don't apologize to me for doing your job,  
CJ. Besides, I want to hear this." She turned to Teri and grinned. "Go on." 

Teri cocked her head to one side, the way she did when she was formulating a  
strategy. Oh, yeah, she was definitely so much better than Mandy Hampton.   
Besides the obvious fact that she wasn't an ex-girlfriend of one dimpled,  
swaggering, very sexy Joshua Lyman, she treated the support staff like people �  
like co-workers � instead of stepped-up servants like Mandy tended to. 

"Come on, guys. Josh is a popular guy outside of Washington. You know, with  
the people to whom he isn't a pain in the ass. People gobble up celebrity love  
stories." 

CJ raised an eyebrow. "'Love blossoms in the White House'?" 

"That's the most crazy-assed thing I've ever heard," Edith said. "But mostly  
because I seem to be the only one still drunk, and I like saying 'crazy-assed'." 

CJ was starting to laugh. "My God, Teri, it could actually work. We call � " 

"Hang on a minute, guys!" 

They all turned to look at Donna. She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to  
fill in some holes for a minute. Josh and I actually have told each other how  
we feel � " 

"About damn time!" CJ exclaimed. 

" � and we know exactly where we stand right now." Donna looked up. "We're  
not at that point yet. We agreed...we decided to take it slow. We're too  
important to each other to risk anything." 

"Can I keep this on the back-burner anyway?" Teri asked. Like Donna would  
actually say 'no'. 

"I would appreciate that more than I can possibly say, Teri." Donna was not  
going to cry again. 

"Pizza's here." 

To Be Continued...

 


	5. Night Pat Murphy, The 5

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISLCLAIMER AND INFO  
PART 5  
CONCLUSION

"Hey, Donna." 

Donna looked up from the file she was paging through. "Hey, Teri. What do you  
need?" 

The other woman shrugged. She was holding two cups of coffee, one of which she  
set on Donna's desk. "Nothing. Just thought you could use some coffee." 

Donna smiled. "Thank you, Teri, that was very sweet." 

Josh came up behind Teri. "Hey, Donna, I need you to schedule a meeting �" 

"With Congressman Albert?" 

"Yeah. Hey, how you doing, Teri?" 

"I hate Mondays, but other than that I'm fine, thank you." She smiled. 

"Teri brought me coffee, Josh," Donna pointed out as she took a sip. 

Josh blinked. "You didn't bring me coffee, Teri." 

She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't ask." 

"Did Donna ask?" 

"No." 

"Then why did she get coffee?" 

"Because she drank my piddley ass under the table Friday night, and I'm  
bringing her coffee as a sign of respect." 

"So if I asked, and you brought me coffee, that would be a sign of respect as  
well?" 

"No," Teri said. 

"Why not?" 

"Because you didn't drink my ass under the table Friday night. See you around,  
Josh." And Teri smiled at them both and left to seek out Toby. 

Donna was doing her best not to laugh. Josh gave her a puzzled look. Donna  
waved a hand dismissively and took another sip of her coffee. 

"Donnatella?" 

"Yes, Joshua?" 

"You drank someone under the table?" 

"Jealous?" 

"Frankly? Yes." 

"Go back to work, Joshua." 

"Okay." He turned to go but caught sight of Danny Concannon striding down the  
hallway. "Hey, Danny. CJ's in a meeting with Leo." 

"Yeah, I know. She told me to meet her in her office," Danny said as he came  
up beside Josh and poked his head into Donna's bullpen space. "Well, there's  
Miss Doris Day herself." 

Donna grinned. "Good morning to you, Mr. Frank Sinatra." 

"That's it. No more Irish. Next week we start in on jazz." 

"Deal." Donna laughed. 

Josh was looking between them with a very comically confused expression. "Uh,  
guys?" 

Danny smiled at Josh. "You should hear her sing 'Danny Boy' sometime. She  
brought the house down with that one." 

Josh threw a surprised look at Donna. "You can sing?" 

She shrugged. "When I feel like it." 

Danny snorted. "In that case I'd definitely say you felt like it on Friday  
night." 

"Yes, I did, Fiddle Boy." 

"You play the fiddle, Danny?" Josh's eyebrow's climbed up his forehead. 

Danny smiled. "When I feel like it." 

Donna laughed again, and looked over Josh's shoulder at something. "Looks like  
CJ's back, Danny." 

"Okay. Oh, yeah, and I brought you something." 

"Is it coffee?" 

"Huh?" 

"Never mind." Donna got up from her chair and stood beside Josh. "What'd you  
bring me?" 

Danny reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small gift sack.   
"Either a very late or very early Christmas gift." 

She reached into the tissue paper and pulled out a CD. "'Road Rage', by Great  
Big Sea." 

"They're a Canadian Celtic band, and that's their live album. It was the only  
one I could find that had most of the songs we sang on Friday night. Plus,  
their original stuff's really good, too," Danny explained. 

Donna blinked back tears. Really, she was so sappy sometimes she disgusted  
herself. She reached out and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Danny. That was  
really sweet of you." 

He smiled as he let her go. "I know." 

Donna raised an eyebrow. "Did you get CJ anything?" 

"I bought CJ and Teri both bottles of Excedrin. Catch you two later." He  
grinned and strode off towards CJ's office. 

"Bye, Danny," Josh said. He turned to face Donna. "So we see that Donnatella  
Moss is a woman of many talents." 

She gave him a look. "If you only knew." 

That caught him off guard. Donna smirked. But she had to hand it to the man;  
he recovered quickly. "Am I ever going to find out?" 

"Go back to work, Joshua." 

"Okay." 

He disappeared, and Donna began counting in her head. She got to fifteen  
before he poked his head out of his office again. "Donna?" 

"Yes?" 

"That wasn't a no, was it." It was a statement, not a question. 

Donna gave him another look, and brandished the manila folder she was holding.   
"I have to get this to Sam." 

"Donna?" 

She handed him a stack of papers. "And this is the stuff you wanted for the  
ACLU meeting." 

"Donna..." 

She strode past him, but not before one final remark. "I highly suggest you  
look at those as soon as possible, Joshua." 

He watched her walk down the hallway for a few seconds, then turned around and  
went back to his desk. No matter what Donna said, he had other stuff to do  
before he looked at the briefing notes for the ACLU meeting. 

But something tugged at him, and he quickly shuffled through the stack, giving  
it a once over. Three papers down from the top there was a note in that  
infamous illegible hand that read only one word. But it was all the word he  
needed. 

The note read: Saturday 

THE END


End file.
